A variety of disciplines and professions have embraced geospatial technologies for collecting, storing, manipulating, analyzing and displaying spatial data to investigate crime, prosecute and convict offenders, exonerate suspects and submit evidence in civil lawsuits. The applications, acceptability and relevance and procedural legality of each geospatial technologies vary. The purpose of this book is to explain the nature of geospatial technologies, demonstrate a variety of geospatial applications used to investigate and litigate civil and criminal activities and to provide a reference of current acceptability of geospatial technology in the production of evidence. This book is an introductory overview designed to appeal to researchers and practitioners across disciplinary boundaries. The authors of this book are researchers and practitioners across disciplines and professions, experts in the field.

This is the ideal book for GIS users in law enforcement who want to learn more about the technology or who wish to get started using GIS in their agency. Crime analysts, teachers, and students of criminal justice will also gain valuable insights into a suite of powerful technological tools ideally suited for crime mapping and analysis from this com

The growing potential of GIS for supporting policing and crime reduction is now being recognised by a broader community. GIS can be employed at different levels to support operational policing, tactical crime mapping, detection, and wider-ranging strategic analyses. With the use of GIS for crime mapping increasing, this book provides a definitive reference. GIS and Crime Mapping provides essential information and reference material to support readers in developing and implementing crime mapping. Relevant case studies help demonstrate the key principles, concepts and applications of crime mapping. This book combines the topics of theoretical principles, GIS, analytical techniques, data processing solutions, information sharing, problem-solving approaches, map design, and organisational structures for using crime mapping for policing and crime reduction. Delivered in an accessible style, topics are covered in a manner that underpins crime mapping use in the three broad areas of operations, tactics and strategy. Provides a complete start-to-finish coverage of crime mapping, including theory, scientific methodologies, analysis techniques and design principles. Includes a comprehensive presentation of crime mapping applications for operational, tactical and strategic purposes. Includes global case studies and examples to demonstrate good practice. Co-authored by Spencer Chainey, a leading researcher and consultant on GIS and crime mapping, and Jerry Ratcliffe, a renowned professor and former police officer. This book is essential reading for crime analysts and other professionals working in intelligence roles in law enforcement or crime reduction, at the local, regional and national government levels. It is also an excellent reference for undergraduate and Masters students taking courses in GIS, Geomatics, Crime Mapping, Crime Science, Criminal Justice and Criminology.

Computerized crime mapping or GIS in law enforcement agencies has experienced rapid growth, particularly since the mid 1990s. There has also been increasing interests in GIS analysis of crime from various academic fields including criminology, geography, urban planning, information science and others. This book features a diverse array of GIS applications in crime analysis, from general issues such as GIS as a communication process and inter-jurisdictional data sharing to specific applications in tracking serial killers and predicting juvenile violence. Geographic Information Systems and Crime Analysis showcases a broad range of methods and techniques from typical GIS tasks such as geocoding and hotspot analysis to advanced technologies such as geographic profiling, agent-based modeling and web GIS. Contributors range from university professors, criminologists in research institutes to police chiefs, GIS analysts in police departments and consultants in criminal justice.

Recent years in North America have seen a rapid development in the area of crime analysis and mapping using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. In 1996, the US National Institute of Justice (NIJ) established the crime mapping research center (CMRC), to promote research, evaluation, development, and dissemination of GIS technology. The long-term goal is to develop a fully functional Crime Analysis System (CAS) with standardized data collection and reporting mechanisms, tools for spatial and temporal analysis, visualization of data and much more. Among the drawbacks of current crime analysis systems is their lack of tools for spatial analysis. For this reason, spatial analysts should research which current analysis techniques (or variations of such techniques) that have been already successfully applied to other areas (e.g., epidemiology, location-allocation analysis, etc.) can also be employed to the spatial analysis of crime data. This book presents a few of those cases.

A Revised and Updated Edition of a Bestselling GIS Text Fundamentals of Crime Mapping, Second Edition walks readers through the research, theories, and history of geographic information systems used in law enforcement. Practical, comprehensive, and highly accessible, the revised and updated Second Edition of this bestselling text explains the day-to-day application of crime analysis for mapping. The text is packed with relevant real-world scenarios that contextualize key concepts and reflect actual crime patterns, trends, and series. Students will develop the skills to analyze and synthesize information and transition classroom-based knowledge to careers in the fast-growing field of law enforcement. Special topics discussed include current basic mapping terminology, crime trends in rural and urban areas, the major ecological theories of crime, geographic profiling, and empirical research using crime mapping tools. The Second Edition incorporates all-new material, including new chapters on the basics of cartography and police methodologies and their impact on crime mapping, as well as all-new exercises using ArcGIS 10. Fundamentals of Crime Mapping, Second Edition helps to equip any practitioner of crime mapping and its related fields with the tools and understanding necessary to meet the challenges of the day. A DVD containing the data files to complete the exercises available within the printed text and the companion website are not included in the purchase of an eBook nor a used text.

Advanced work on GIS applications in such fields as urban planning, transportation, and economic development